Peter Smith | |
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| Member of theU.S. House of Representatives fromVermont'sat-large district | |
| In office January 3, 1989 – January 3, 1991 | |
| Preceded by | Jim Jeffords |
| Succeeded by | Bernie Sanders |
| 76thLieutenant Governor of Vermont | |
| In office January 10, 1983 – January 3, 1987 | |
| Governor | Richard Snelling Madeleine Kunin |
| Preceded by | Madeleine Kunin |
| Succeeded by | Howard Dean |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Peter Plympton Smith (1945-10-31)October 31, 1945 (age 80) Boston,Massachusetts, U.S. |
| Political party | Republican |
| Education | Princeton University (BA) Harvard University (MA,EdD) |
Peter Plympton Smith (born October 31, 1945) is an American educator and politician who served as a member of theUnited States House of Representatives from the U.S. state ofVermont, the76th lieutenant governor of Vermont, and an education administrator. He served as the founding president of theCommunity College of Vermont, the founding president ofCalifornia State University, Monterey Bay, and as assistant director general for education of theUnited Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO).
Smith was born inBoston, Massachusetts, and was raised inBurlington, Vermont. He is the son of Burlington banker andVermont State SenatorFrederick Plympton Smith. He graduated fromPhillips Academy in 1964 and received an A.B. in history fromPrinceton University in 1968 after completing a senior thesis titled "Burlington, Vermont, 1791-1848: A Study of Economic Development and Social Change in a Community."[1] In 1970, he received aM.A.T. from theHarvard University Graduate School of Education. He received hisEd.D. from the Harvard Graduate School of Education in administration, planning, and social policy in 1983.[2]
Smith served one year as an assistant to the Vermont Commissioner of Education. In 1970, he became the founding president of theCommunity College of Vermont, aVermont State College. He first ran for office in 1978, defeating incumbentLieutenant Governor of VermontT. Garry Buckley in the Republican primary[3] but losing the general election for Lieutenant Governor to DemocratMadeleine M. Kunin. Between 1981 and 1983, he served as a Vermont State Senator representing theWashington County district. After Kunin chose not to run for re-election in 1982, Smith was elected to succeed her. He served two two-year terms. He ran for Governor of Vermont in 1986 but was defeated by Kunin. After two years as Vice President of Development atNorwich University he was elected to theUnited States House of Representatives in 1988 forVermont's at-large congressional district.[2] In 1990, he was defeated in his bid for re-election by IndependentBernie Sanders.[4]
Smith wroteYour Hidden Credentials: The Value of Personal Learning Outside College, (Acropolis Books, Ltd, 1986). The book promotes college credit for life experience. Smith is also the author ofThe Quiet Crisis: How Higher Education Is Failing America, (Anker Publishing Company, Inc.,2004) which received juried acclaim from the American Association of Continuing Education. His third book,Harnessing America's Wasted Talent: New Dimensions for Higher Education (Jossey-Bass, 2010) was published in early 2010. His fourth book,Free-range Learning in the Digital Age: The Emerging Revolution in College, Career, and Education (SelectBooks) was published in 2018.[5]
From 1991 to 1994, Smith served as dean of the Graduate School of Education and Human Development atGeorge Washington University. In 1994 Smith became president ofCalifornia State University, Monterey Bay, a post that he vacated in 2005. Beginning June 20, 2005, Smith served as assistant director general for education of the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO).[2] He left UNESCO in 2007.[6]
In April 2016,University of Maryland University College announced that Smith had been appointed to a term as the Orkand Endowed Chair and Professor of Innovative Practices in Higher Education. In this position, Smith was responsible for identifying and implementing measures to improve the school's learning and support services delivery.[7] He retired from that position in 2022.[5]
In 2016 Smith was one of thirty former Republican congressmen to sign a letter opposingDonald Trump's candidacy for president.[8]
| Party political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Republican nominee forLieutenant Governor of Vermont 1978 | Succeeded by Peg Garland |
| Preceded by Peg Garland | Republican nominee forLieutenant Governor of Vermont 1982, 1984 | Succeeded by Susan Auld |
| Preceded by | Republican nominee forGovernor of Vermont 1986 | Succeeded by Michael Bernhardt |
| Political offices | ||
| Preceded by | Lieutenant Governor of Vermont 1983–1987 | Succeeded by |
| U.S. House of Representatives | ||
| Preceded by | Member of theU.S. House of Representatives fromVermont's at-large congressional district 1989–1991 | Succeeded by |
| U.S. order of precedence (ceremonial) | ||
| Preceded byas Former U.S. Representative | Order of precedence of the United States as Former U.S. Representative | Succeeded byas Former U.S. Representative |
| International | |
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| National | |
| People | |
| Other | |
